This is a list of submitted surnames in which the description contains the keywords bringer or of or light.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
NorthwayEnglish Habitational name from one or more of the minor places called with Middle English bi northe weie "(place) to the north of the way or road" from the elements norþ "north" and weg "way" including Northway in Monkleigh Widecombe in the Moor and Parkham Norway in Whitestone Narraway in Drewsteignton (all Devon) and Northway in Halse (Somerset)... [more]
NorvellEnglish Derived from the name of a place in England named Northwell in Nottinghamshire. It is a combination of the old English term for "north" with other geographic features such as welle meaning "a well, spring."
NorzagaraiBasque (Rare) From the name of a house in the municipality of Álava, Spain, derived from Basque garai "high, tall, top" and an uncertain first element.
NostradamusHistory, French (Latinized) Latinized form of de Nostredame. This surname was borne by the French physician and writer Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566), famous for his collection of prophecies Les Prophéties (1555) allegedly predicting the apocalypse and danger from the Arab world.
NottinghamEnglish (British) A habitational name from the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands. Comes from the Old English name, meaning "homestead (ham) of Snot’s people". The initial S- was lost in the 12th century, due to the influence of Anglo-Norman French.... [more]
NovelloItalian From the nickname and personal name Novello, from Italian meaning 'new, young'. A famous bearer of this name is Welsh actor and musician Ivor Novello (1893-1951).
NovoGalician, Portuguese Nickname from Portuguese and Galician novo ‘new’, ‘young’ (Latin novus). The word was also occasionally used in the Middle Ages as a personal name, particularly for a child born after the death of a sibling, and this may also be a source of the surname.
NovoselićCroatian Derived from nov, meaning "new", and selo, meaning "village", so the possible meaning is "the one who's new to the village".... [more]
NowitzkiPolish (Germanized) Germanised form of Nowicki. In Poland, the surname is masculine, but in Germany it does not follow that rule.
NoxonEnglish Variant of Nixon. It is derived from the personal name Nicholas, which was Nik, or Nikke in Old English.
NoyEnglish Either (i) from the medieval male personal name Noye, the English form of the Hebrew name Noach "Noah 1"; or (ii) an invented Jewish name based on Hebrew noy "decoration, adornment".
NoyamaJapanese Combination of Kanji Characters 野 meaning "Field", and 山 meaning "Mountain".
NoyeEnglish Patronymic form of the biblical male given name Noah.
NōzawaJapanese (Rare) Variant of Osame but adding Japanese 沢 (zawa), the joining form of 沢 (sawa) meaning "mountain stream, marsh; wetlands", possibly referring to a place with wet grounds or a mountain stream.
NugentEnglish, Irish, French An English, Irish (of Norman origin) and French habitational surname derived from any of several places in northern France (such as Nogent-sur-Oise), From Latin novientum and apparently an altered form of a Gaulish name meaning "new settlement".
NungesserGerman Apparently a variant spelling of German Nonnengasse, derived from a street name meaning "nuns, lane". It could also be a variant of Gnugesser, a nickname for a big eater, derived from g(e)nug meaning "enough" and esser meaning "eater" (which derived from essen meaning "to eat")... [more]
NushiroJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 主代 (nushiro), a contraction of 主代 (nushishiro), from 主 (nushi), a variant reading of 主 (shu), a clipping of 主人 (shujin) meaning "master, owner, host" and 代 (shiro), a variant reading of 代 (dai), a clipping of 代理 (dairi) meaning "surrogation; proxy", referring to someone who would represent their master.
NussGerman from Middle High German nuz ‘nut’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a gatherer and seller of nuts, or a nickname for a man thought to resemble a nut in some way
NussrallahArabic Nasrallah (Arabic: نصرالله) is a male Arabic given name, meaning "Victory of God", and is used by Muslims and Christians alike. It may also be transliterated as Nasralla, Nasrollah, Nasrullah and Al-Nasrallah... [more]
NusukuOkinawan (Rare, Archaic) From Okinawan 野底 (Nusuku) meaning "Nosoko", an area in the city of Ishigaki in the prefecture of Okinawa in Japan.
NuteEnglish Possibly derived from the given name Cnute, or be a variant of Newitt. Alternatively, it may be from Old English hnutu "brown", a nickname for someone with a brown complexion or hair.
NutterEnglish Means either (i) "scribe, clerk" (from Middle English notere, ultimately from Latin notārius); or (ii) "person who keeps or tends oxen" (from a derivative of Middle English nowt "ox")... [more]
NuttliRomansh Variant of Nutt combined with the diminutive suffix -li.
NwudeIgbo The surname Nwude is likely of Igbo origin, a major ethnic group in Nigeria. In the Igbo language, Nwude (or Nwodi) can be a combination of two elements:... [more]
NygmaPopular Culture The surname of Edward Nygma, also known as the Riddler in DC Comics. The name comes from the term enigma, meaning something that is difficult to understand.
NylandNorwegian Combination of Norwegian ny "new" and land "land, yard".
NylanderSwedish Combination of Swedish ny "new" (possibly a habitational name from a place named with this element) and the common surname suffix -ander (a combination of land "land" and the habitational suffix -er).
OakdenEnglish A variant of Ogden, from a place name derived from Old English āc "oak" and denu "valley". Famous bearers include British diplomat Edward Oakden and English cricketer Patrick Oakden.
OakenshieldEnglish (British), Literature In J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit", the surname of Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves and the King of Durin's Folk.
OaksEnglish English variant spelling of Oakes and Americanized form of Jewish Ochs.
OakwellEnglish Probably either from the former village of Oakwell-in-the-Blean in the county of Kent, or Ockwell Manor, and again a former village, near Bray, in Berkshire
ObermillerGerman (Americanized) Partly Americanized form of German Obermüller, a topographic name for the miller at the ‘upper mill’.
ObermokUkrainian Obermok is most likely an anglicized form of the surname Oberemok.... [more]
ObinagaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 帯 (obi) meaning "sash; belt" and 長 (naga), the root form of 長い (nagai) meaning "long; lengthy".... [more]
ObolenskyRussian Indicates familial origin within the village of Obolensk in the Kaluga Oblast, Russia. This was the name of a Russian aristocrat family of the Rurik Dynasty.
ObuchMedieval Polish (Rare) Obuch is a surname found in Poland and specifically areas that were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom. It was the name of a long handled battle hammer and may have denoted someone handy with the weapon or who produced the weapon... [more]
ObuchiJapanese Combination of the kanji 小 (o, "small") and 渕 (淵, fuchi, "abyss, edge"). A famous bearer of this surname is Japanese Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi (小渕 恵三; 1937–2000).
ObukhovmRussian Occupational name for a lumberjack or a maker of axes, derived from Russian обух (obukh) meaning "butt" (referring to the thicker end of a tool or weapon like an axe).
OcaCastilian It indicates familial origin within the municipality of Villafranca Montes de Oca (geo coordinates: 42.3882°N 3.3090°W).
OcampoSpanish, Galician From the Galician toponym O Campo meaning "the field", also used as a habitational name from a town of the same name in Lugo, Galicia.
OcchibelliItalian Probably from Italian occhio "eye" and bello "beautiful, good", as a nickname for someone with keen eyesight or attractive eyes. May also originate from a place of the same name.
Ó CéirínIrish Meaning ‘descendant of Céirín’, a personal name from a diminutive of ciar ‘dark’, ‘black’. English patronymic -s has been added superfluously.
OchsenkopfGerman Habitational name for a person living in any of the mountains across Germany, Austria, or Liechtenstein, literally meaning "ox's head" in German.
OcónSpanish This indicates familial origin within either the eponymous Riojan municipality or the Ocón de Villafranca neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Villafranca Montes de Oca.
Ó CrotaighIrish Means “descendant of Crotach.” Crotach is a byname for a hunchback.
Ó CruimínIrish It means the "descendant of Cruimín," which is derived from the word crom, meaning "bent," or "crooked."
OdaJapanese From the Japanese 小 (o) "small," 尾 (o) "tail" or 織 (o) "fabric," "material," "cloth" and 田 (ta or da) "rice paddy" or 多 (ta or da) "many."... [more]
OddyMedieval English Was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as the lords of the manor of Storkhouse, Gisbern and Withernsea in that shire. Believed to be descended from Count Odo.
OdishoAssyrian Means "servant of Jesus" from Syriac ܥܒܕܐ (ʿaḇdā) meaning "servant" and ܝܫܘܥ (Išōʿ) meaning "Jesus".
OdlandNorwegian Habitational name from any of several farmsteads in Rogaland and Hordaland named Odland, from Old Norse Árland, a compound of á ‘small river’ (or another first element of uncertain origin) + land ‘land’, ‘farm’.
OdomEnglish Medieval nickname for someone who had climbed the social ladder by marrying the daughter of a prominent figure in the local community, from Middle English odam ‘son-in-law’ (Old English aðum).
Ó DonndubhartaighIrish (Archaic) Means "descendant of Donndubhartach", a personal name composed of donn "brown" and dub "black" combined with artach "nobleman".
OdsonMedieval French Means 'son of Odo', Odo meaning 'possessor of wealth' many French Dukes and Counts had the name Odo. ' From the nickname 'Oddy' or 'Hoddy'.
O'duffyIrish The name O'Duffy originates from the gaelic surname "O Dubhthaigh". Dubh meaning "Black" in Gaeilge. They claim descent from the ancient Heremon kings of Ireland. They descend from "Cahir Mor", the King of Leinster in the second century... [more]
Ó DuibhidhirIrish Means "descendant of Duibhuidhir". Duibhuidhir is a personal name composed of the elements dubh "dark, black" and odhar "sallow, tawny".
Ó DuibhneIrish Means "descendent of Duibhne", a given name possibly meaning "ill-tempered, surly".
O'farrellIrish From Irish Ó Fearghail meaning "descendant of Fearghal. This name is borne by several families in Ireland, in counties Longford, Tyrone, and Wicklow.
O'feeIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fiaich "descendant of Fiach".
OffenbachGerman, Jewish From the name of the city of Offenbach am Main in Hesse, Germany. A famous bearer was the German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880).
OfferhausDutch From Offenhaus, the name of two municipalities, one in Germany and one in Austria.
OfficerEnglish (Canadian), English (American, Rare) Occupational name for the holder of any office, from Anglo-Norman French officer (an agent derivative of Old French office ‘duty’, ‘service’, Latin officium ‘service’, ‘task’).
OffuttGerman Possibly a respelling of German Auffahrt ‘ascension’.
ŌgaJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 淡河, 王賀 or 相賀 with 淡 (tan, awa.i) meaning "faint, fleeting, pale, thin," 河 (ka, kawa) meaning "river," 王 (ou, -nou) meaning "king, magnate, rule," 相 (shou, sou, ai-, ou) meaning "aspect, councillor, each other, inter-, minister of state, mutual, phase, physiognomy, together" and 賀 (ga) meaning "congratulations, joy."... [more]
O'GalvinIrish Anglicized form of Ó Gealbháin, which means "descendant of the bright, fair one", derived from the Gaelic elements geal "bright" and ban "fair, white". A known bearer of the original form of the surname is Ciarán Ó Gealbháin, former signer of the Irish traditional music band Danú.
OgasawaraJapanese From Japanese 小笠原 (Ogasawara) meaning "Ogasawara", a former village in the former district of Koma in the former Japanese province of Kai in parts of present-day Yamanashi, Japan.